Poulan Pro 3400 Conter-Vibe, Brochure, Page: 6 / 16

The Model A (top) was Poulan’s
first one-man bow saw offering
Reduction Drive. The Model
B100 (bottom) featured Gear
Drive and let to dramatic
growth of the company.
In addition to establishing Poulan’s
reputation for quality, the B100 led to
dramatic growth in the company's two-step
distributor/dealer sales system.
Poulan again influenced the market with
the introduction of the F100 Reduction
Drive chain saw. It was a highly efficient
and very popular unit with professional
loggers.
Poulan moved quickly in the develop-
ment of a direct drive unit and in August
1957, the H100 was introduced. It was fol-
lowed a year by the streamlined Model
F200, a more powerful version of the
F100. The F200 pushed Poulan sales in the
professional market to record levels. Its
innovative design and dependability made
it very popular with the professional, so
popular in fact, that demands for the unit
continued for four years after the F200 was
discontinued.
A time of development
T
hrough the mid-1950’s Poulan contin-
ued to be an innovator in the chain saw
field. It was during this period that Poulan
recognized the evolution of “one-man”
operation and introduced the Model A
reduction drive saw. This model was
untested and troublesome and Conly
remembers the valuable lesson learned
from it: “The salesmen would go out and
put a modified part on the saw at the deal-
er’s place of business. Two weeks later
another salesman might follow up and take
off that modification and install a new one.
It was
a time of testing and learning for the
company.
While the Model A unit was setting new
sales records, an even more progressive
model, the B100 Gear Drive unit was com-
ing on line. The B100 was faster and more
versatile than the Model A and put Poulan
into the thick of the business.